In her first week in office, the newly elected Galena Park mayor said she did what she had to for her voters and their small community along the Houston Ship Channel.

Mayor Esmeralda Moya fired both the city attorney and city administrator, demoted the police chief and then changed the locks on City Hall.

On Monday, the city's four commissioners struck back, reversing every decision she made in an escalating power struggle that is roiling Galena Park's political waters.

In a volatile session Monday night, commissioners voted to reinstate the three employees to their posts and prohibit the mayor from limiting access to City Hall.

Galena Park's City Council overrode the mayor's every wish, voting unanimously on every motion, even though their voices were barely audible over the capacity crowd packed with Moya supporters in City Hall chanting "no, no, no."

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After the meeting, an angry Moya said the commissioners' actions were invalid because they were not adequately described on the scheduled executive session's agenda. She said she stands by her decisions.

"I'm going to go ahead and speak with my lawyers and see what steps we are going to take next," said Moya, a political newcomer, elected with 58 percent of the vote in a June runoff.

But an attorney who read the charter in detail before the meeting contended Moya had no authority to do what she did on Wednesday.

"The mayor lacks the authority to unilaterally terminate employees," attorney John J. Hightower said to commissioners and the standing-room-only crowd. Hightower was brought in by a majority of commissioners to offer a review of the city charter.

He also said the city administrator - among the officials Moya tried to fire - was the one official with the right to control access to City Hall, not the mayor. Moya should not have changed the locks on City Hall, Hightower added.

The mayor, however, said she felt compelled to take the actions she did.

"I wasn't going to sit here and be a lame duck. They didn't elect me for that," Moya said after the meeting. She is the city's first Hispanic and first female mayor.

Last Wednesday, Moya, 45, said she sent letters of dismissal to City Administrator Robert Pruett and City Attorney Jim DeFoyd. She also tried to demote Police Chief Jonathan Rader to sergeant, to break up what she called the "good ol' boys kind of clique."

'Change is needed'

Many of the 11,000 residents of the community agree they are ready for change. But not all agree that Moya is going about it the right way.

Residents have told the Chronicle the city needs better roads, water lines and drainage for storms. They say Galena Park also needs new businesses, to create jobs and provide basic needs to residents.

But that's where the similarities end. Moya supporters said the city has been stagnant for years because of its old leadership.

"Change is needed," said Nadine Huff, 56. "It's like we've been held hostage all these years."

Others said the mayor shouldn't have fired employees without approval from the four commissioners. And some said the men are good at their jobs and don't deserve to be fired.

Consensus needed

One of those residents was Robert Marrs, 58, a former fire chief. He has lived in the city his whole life, and worked alongside Pruett in city government.

"I think what she needs to do is get a consensus of the commission," Marrs said early Monday.

That was the intended goal of the planned closed executive session - for the mayor and the commissioners to come to an agreement about the personnel decisions. The meeting was eventually made public.

When the commissioners voted to reinstate the three employees the room erupted into complete pandemonium. Citizens shouted to commissioners that "they forgot who elected them."

A few yards away from the City Hall lawn, citizens lined up to sign a petition to recall the commissioners. So far, there were about 200 signatures from people willing to go door-to-door to get more.